Party taps into 'outpouring of disgust and anger towards the atrocious, cruel policies of Labor and the Coalition'
The Greens have committed to a Senate inquiry into Australia's "cruel" treatment of refugees and clean air legislation as part of their election platform.
The Greens leader, Christine Milne, will also use her policy launch to warn voters against giving the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, total control of both houses of Parliament, in a clear indication the Greens believe the Coalition is likely to win the 7 September election.
Treatment of asylum seekers is the centrepiece of the strategy, following the announcement of the Papua New Guinea policy which stops any "boat people" from ever settling in Australia.
"Refugees have long been our nation's chief political football, but this election the race to the bottom has hit new lows," Milne said.
"I haven't seen such an outpouring of shock, disgust and anger towards the atrocious, cruel policies of Labor and the Coalition since the Tampa crisis.
"People expected this kind of behaviour from John Howard's protege Tony Abbott, but Labor has joined him in tit-for-tat one upmanship. Across the country our candidates have had countless people tell them this time they can't vote for either of the old parties."
As part of their election platform, the Greens are calling for an inquiry conducted through the Senate to "rigorously scrutinise the legal financial and moral implications of the cruelty done in the name of Australia to refugees".
The inquiry, which would require the support of a major party, would focus on the long-term health effects on asylum seekers held in detention. It would also investigate whether Labor and the Coalition's policies contravened international obligations such as the UN convention on refugees and the international migration convention.
"Refugees from all over the world have made our nation richer – wave after wave from Europe after World War II, Vietnam, Somalia, Sudan we have welcomed and in turn they have given back to us many times over," Milne said.
"Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott are aiding and abetting each other in ways to treat innocent, vulnerable people in the most unimaginably cruel way – cruelty in pursuit of power shames us all, drags down our international standing as we break international law. It demeans us as a people but I know Australians are better than this."
The launch comes at a time when Greens have been battling on many fronts over preference deals. Having lost Liberal preferences after a "captain's call" by Abbott, they also suffered at the hands of the WikiLeaks party. WikiLeaks said it had been an "administrative error", though the high-profile Victorian candidate Leslie Cannold quit over the move.
The Greens were also embroiled in a fight with Labor over its preference deals. The party has been attacked by the Victorian Labor party for "ratting" on the deal in how-to-vote cards. This time, the Greens claimed an "administrative error".
At the launch on Saturday the Greens will also introduce legislation for a clean air act to develop national standards and regulations for air quality, focusing on coalmines and coal-fired power stations.
The legislation, which would need to garner support of at least one major party, would drive the installation of an air quality monitoring network.
All coal trains passing through population centres would need to be covered and the legislation would impose regulations on emissions for new sales of non-road petrol engines, such as lawn mowers and boats.
Milne made a clear reference to breakdowns in relations with the major parties, including Abbott's decision to remove Liberal preferences from the Greens and Labor's split with the Greens last year, breaking the agreement forged at the beginning of the hung parliament in 2010.
"There's no doubt we are the underdog, the David to their Goliath," Milne said.
"The Greens rely on volunteers and people power – not deep pockets. We are outmatched a hundred times to one by the spending power of the old parties.
"But still, in this campaign – and in the year leading up to it – both old parties have spent almost as much time attacking us as they have attacking each other."
